The Ravens won a game 25-9 on Sunday but they lost a full-season-impact battle as they lost running back J.K. Dobbins for the season when he went down injured suffering a season-ending torn Achilles.
Dobbins, who had missed most of training camp while listed in the Ravens PUP list but in reality "holding in" expecting a new contract, tore his Achilles on the Ravens season opener against Houston and John Harbaugh already ruled him out for the remainder of the season.
Head Coach John Harbaugh announced that J.K. Dobbins has a torn Achilles and will miss the season.
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 10, 2023
Dobbins went down with just five minutes to go in the first half of Sunday's matchup having rushed the rock eight times for 22 yards and a touchdown, his longest carry going for a mere four yards.
The fateful play happened when M.J. Stewart tackled Dobbins close to the goal line, bringing him down only for the rusher to get up and limp to the sideline. Dobbins was then helped by trainers on his way to the locker room.
With Dobbins out for the season, the Ravens must decide how they want to handle the backfield going forward and with nearly all of the schedule still to be played out.
Here are the three options Baltimore could be expected to at least consider in the next few days and weeks in order to fix their running back room and try to fight their way toward Super Bowl contention with Dobbins having played his last game of 2023.
1. Do nothing: Gus Edwards, Justice Hill, Melvin Gordon, and Keaton Mitchell lead the backfield
This is the most probable outcome and the path that Baltimore would be the most comfortable with going forward.
The Ravens certainly have a crowded backfield and it was surprising to see the franchise carry four running backs into the regular season by including rookie UDFA Keaton Mitchell in their initial 53-man roster at the end of August.
Mitchell, mind you, was later put on Injured Reserve and thus won't be available until Week 5 at the earliest. That said, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill were active (and played great) on Sunday while Melvin Gordon was signed to the Practice Squad following the roster cuts.
For now, and barring an insta-trade in the next few hours, the Ravens will need to split their carries between Edwards and Hill against the Cincinnati Bengals next Sunday. None of them is J.K. Dobbins at his peak, but they combined for 41 yards and two TDs on 16 carries on Sunday.
Edwards rushed the rock eight times for 32 yards (his longest run went for 13 yards), and Hill got the same amount of carries (albeit closer to the end zone) rushing for nine yards and two scores.
Gordon was left out of Sunday's gameday squad and has yet to be elevated to the active roster this season, still being considered a member of the Practice Squad.
2. Make a trade: Call the Indianapolis Colts about Jonathan Taylor
This is the most obvious trade the Ravens can pursue if they want to bring a top-tier rusher to Baltimore, although the price to pay for RB Jonathan Taylor might end up being prohibitive.
Many fans already voiced their desire for this trade the minute Dobbins was ruled out for the game, let alone the remainder of the season, so it makes sense to at least discuss the possibility.
Jonathan Taylor you are a Raven
— ⚡️Garrett Ferguson⚡️ (@GarrettSprints) September 10, 2023
Taylor is currently on the PUP list and out for the first four weeks of the season. If the Ravens trade for the Colts rusher, they will be forced to wait until at least Week 5 to use him for the first time this season.
The running back entered a fight--similar to the one Dobbins himself underwent through the summer--against his franchise as he wants to be paid according to how he values his talents.
That led to both sides failing to reach a contract extension, to a late-August trade demand by Taylor, and ultimately to his deactivation from the active squad for the first four weeks of the regular season.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, "all options are now on the table" when it comes to Taylor and the Colts working out a trade, although it's worth noting that Indianapolis allowed the rusher to try to find a trade partner, which he failed to do ahead of Week 1.
Adding a little, interesting, and funny quirk to this drama: the Ravens and the Colts play against each other in Week 3 when Baltimore will host Indianapolis.
Will Taylor be a member of the Ravens Flock by then? We can only wait.
3. Sign a veteran Free Agent: Leonard Fournette and Kareem Hunt remain available
This feels like the longest of shots if only because the Ravens already signed a veteran free agent this season when they added Melvin Gordon III to the roster in July and ahead of training camp.
While the veteran wasn't terrible through the summer in practices, the truth is that undrafted rookie Keaton Mitchell ended up getting the RB4 role in a rather surprising but deserved way.
Gordon isn't the otherworldly talented rusher he was at the peak of his powers, but he's a seasoned veteran and a role model for the young players in the squad, a profile he already excelled at when with the Denver Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs in the past few seasons.
Of course, Gordon is already on the wrong side of 30, so adding any of the best two rushers still available on the free agent market--that'd be Leonard Fournette and Kareem Hunt--would be an improvement in terms of age and miles in their respective odometers.
Fournette has played 79 games throughout his NFL career and rushed the rock 1,132 times while Hunt has appeared in 76 games getting 895 carries. For context, MG3 has 108 games and 1,567 rush attempts to his name.
A former Super Bowl champion and high-school/college standout, Fournette boasts the best pass-catching skills with 312 receptions. Hunt, on the other hand, has the highest yards average at 4.5 yards per carry, but he has caught the most TD through the air with 17.
Each of those two veterans would come at a price but considering the depressed status of the running back market and the fact that we're already one week into the regular season, it's possible that they wouldn't ask for that much money desperate to find a place to play on a weekly basis.
The Ravens have many running backs in tow and they are expected to use a more spread offense under new OC Todd Monken, but losing their RB1 in J.K. Dobbins definitely calls for action.
It is still early, but Baltimore must make a solid decision quickly and go strongly with it.